Chapter 10. Homeowner's Insurance and Private Passenger Motor Vehicle Insurance — Standards for Cancellation and Nonrenewal
Regulation .01 Definitions.LinkCopy Citation
A.
In this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated.
B.
Terms Defined.
(1)
“Business purposes standard” means the standard required by Insurance Article, §27-501(a)(2), Annotated Code of Maryland.
(2)
“Claim” means a reported loss that is covered or coverable under a policy.
(3)
“Loss” means damage or injury to body, person, or property.
(4)
“Remediation” means repair of the premises or dwelling of an insured or replacement of part of the premises or dwelling of an insured that:
(a)
Eliminates or significantly diminishes the condition of the premises or dwelling that gave rise to a claim; and
(b)
Makes it reasonably unlikely that the same type of claim will arise again.
(5)
“Repair notice” means written notice that:
(a)
An insurer provides to an insured pursuant to Insurance Article, §27-501(i)(2), Annotated Code of Maryland; and
(b)
Requests the insured to make reasonable or customary repairs or replacement specific to the insured's premises or dwelling.
Regulation .02 Homeowner's Insurance.LinkCopy Citation
A.
Scope. This regulation applies to homeowner's insurance.
B.
Weather-Related Claims—Presumption. A claim is presumed to be a weather-related claim if the loss was caused by snow, rain, sleet, hail, lightning, freezing, thawing, change in barometric pressure, or a similar condition.
C.
Weather-Related Claims—Standard for Cancellation or Nonrenewal.
(1)
An insurer may not combine a weather-related claim that is excepted from the business purposes standard by Insurance Article, §27-501(i)(1), Annotated Code of Maryland, with any other factor for the purpose of canceling or refusing to renew coverage unless there were three or more weather-related claims within the preceding 3 years.
(2)
For purposes of cancellation of, or refusal to renew, coverage based on weather-related claims pursuant to Insurance Article, §27-501(i)(1), Annotated Code of Maryland, an insurer may consider a weather-related claim notwithstanding any remediation by the insured that may prevent a similar weather-related claim from arising in the future.
D.
Weather-Related Claims—Repair Notice.
(1)
An insurer may consider claims for weather-related events for the purpose of canceling, or refusing to renew, coverage after providing a repair notice to an insured pursuant to Insurance Article §27-501(i)(2), Annotated Code of Maryland, only if the repair was sent following:
(a)
An inspection of the insured's premises or dwelling; or
(b)
The filing of a claim by the insured where the insurer's adjuster recognized the need for the repair after inspecting the premises or dwelling where the claim arose.
(2)
An insurer that provides a repair notice to an insured may satisfy the requirements of Insurance Article, §27-501(i)(2), Annotated Code of Maryland, by sending the repair notice to the insured by first class mail, in accordance with the insurer's regular business practices.
(3)
An insurer may not consider a weather-related claim for the purpose of canceling, or refusing to renew, coverage due to the insured's failure to make repairs or replacement after mailing of a repair notice unless the repair notice was mailed at least 60 days before the weather-related event that gave rise to the loss for which a claim was made.
(4)
Insurance Article, §27-501(i)(2), Annotated Code of Maryland, does not allow an insurer to cancel, or refuse to renew, coverage based wholly or partly on an insured's failure to make repair or replacement after mailing of a repair notice unless the insurer meets the business purposes standard, which may be met by meeting one of the standards listed in Insurance Article, §27-501(j), Annotated Code of Maryland.
E.
Material Misrepresentation.
(1)
For purposes of Insurance Article, §27-501(j)(1)(i), Annotated Code of Maryland, a material misrepresentation is a misrepresentation but for which an insurer would:
(a)
Not have provided coverage; or
(b)
Have denied a claim or any part of a claim.
(2)
For purposes of Insurance Article, §27-501(j)(1)(i), Annotated Code of Maryland, a material misrepresentation does not include a good faith representation of the value of a claim or any part of a claim.
Regulation .03 Private Passenger Motor Vehicle Insurance.LinkCopy Citation
A.
Scope. This regulation applies to private passenger motor vehicle insurance.
B.
Determining Number of Claims.
(1)
For the purpose of determining the number of not-at-fault claims under Insurance Article, §27-501(k), Annotated Code of Maryland, claims under the following types of coverage shall be presumed to be not-at-fault:
(a)
Uninsured motorist coverage; and
(b)
Comprehensive coverage.
(2)
The presumption in §B(1) of this regulation may be overcome if the carrier demonstrates that the claim was an at-fault claim.
C.
Complaint Proceeding Based on Accident—Determination of Fault.
(1)
In a consumer complaint proceeding for cancellation or refusal to renew coverage under Insurance Article, §27-501(k) or (l)(iv), Annotated Code of Maryland, based wholly or partly on an accident, the Insurance Administration may:
(a)
Review the insurer's determination of fault for the accident; and
(b)
Decide whether the insurer's determination of fault was arbitrary or capricious.
(2)
Payment of a settlement by an insurer for an accident is evidence of the insured's fault for the accident, but is not conclusive proof of fault.
D.
Material Misrepresentation.
(1)
For purposes of Insurance Article, §27-501(l)(1)(i), Annotated Code of Maryland, a material misrepresentation is a misrepresentation:
(a)
About an insured's driving record made on an initial or underwriting renewal application; or
(b)
But for which an insurer would:
(i)
Not have provided coverage; or
(ii)
Have denied a claim or any part of a claim.
(2)
For purposes of Insurance Article, §27-501(l)(1)(i), Annotated Code of Maryland, a material misrepresentation does not include a good faith representation of the value of a claim or any part of a claim.
E.
Action Based on Criminal Conduct.
(1)
In the case of private passenger motor vehicle insurance, standards that meet the business purposes standard and do not require statistical validation include a standard that allows cancellation or nonrenewal of coverage if the named insured or a covered driver under the policy is convicted of:
(a)
Operating the motor vehicle while intoxicated, or impaired by drugs;
(b)
Committing homicide, reckless endangerment, or criminal negligence arising out of the operation of the motor vehicle; or
(c)
Using the motor vehicle to participate in a felony.
(2)
If a named insured or covered driver is found guilty of a crime listed in §E(1) of this regulation, and the guilty finding subsequently is struck, and the final disposition of the matter is probation before judgment, the guilty finding:
(a)
May be used as evidence that the named insured or covered driver committed the conduct listed in §E(1) of this regulation; but
(b)
Is not conclusive proof that the named insured or covered driver committed the conduct listed in §E(1) of this regulation and may be rebutted by evidence showing that the insured or covered driver did not commit the conduct.
Regulation .04 Action Based on Claims History.LinkCopy Citation
A.
Factors in Mitigation. With respect to cancellation of, or refusal to renew, coverage based on claims history, an insurer may not consider factors in mitigation of a proposed cancellation of, or refusal to renew, coverage as provided by Insurance Article, §27-501(n)(1), Annotated Code of Maryland, unless the:
(1)
Insurer applies the factors uniformly within a given classification to each proposed cancellation of, or refusal to renew, coverage for all insureds; and
(2)
Factors considered are included in the insurer's underwriting guidelines or rating plan.
B.
Disclosure of Practice of Considering Claims History. An insurer that is required by Insurance Article, §27-501(n)(2), Annotated Code of Maryland, to disclose the practice of considering claims history for purposes of canceling, or refusing to renew, coverage shall provide notice to the insured at the issuance of the policy and at each renewal by using the following language, or substantially similar language, in a least 12-point type: (Name of Insurer) will consider your claims history for purposes of determining whether to cancel or refuse to renew your policy.
C.
Providing Disclosure Notice at Inception of Policy. An insurer shall provide the disclosure notice required by §B of this regulation to an insured at the inception of a policy by:
(1)
Including the disclosure notice in a conspicuous location on a binder, the policy, or another form; and
(2)
Mailing or delivering the binder, policy, or other form to the insured.
D.
Providing Disclosure Notice at Renewal. An insurer shall provide the disclosure notice required by §B of this regulation to an insured at each renewal of a policy by including the disclosure notice in a conspicuous location on the notice of renewal premium required by Insurance Article, §§27-607 and 27-610, Annotated Code of Maryland.
E.
The disclosure required by §§B and D of this regulation may be met by using the form under COMAR 31.08.18.02.
Regulation .05 Measurement of Time Periods.LinkCopy Citation
For the purpose of measuring any time period within which a certain number of claims, or events giving rise to claims, shall have occurred in order to cancel or refuse to renew coverage under Insurance Article, §27-501, Annotated Code of Maryland, the time period is measured from the effective date of the coverage or renewal.
Regulation .06 Prohibition on Cancellation or Nonrenewal When Filed Rate Exists.LinkCopy Citation
A.
Scope. This regulation does not apply to cancellation of a risk due to nonpayment of a premium.
B.
Prohibition. Notwithstanding any provision of Insurance Article, §27-501, Annotated Code of Maryland, or of this chapter, an insurer may not cancel, or refuse to renew, a risk if the insurer has a filed rate that is applicable to that risk.
Regulation .07 Umbrella Coverage.LinkCopy Citation
Insurance Article, §27-501, Annotated Code of Maryland, or this chapter does not allow an insurer to cancel or refuse to renew personal umbrella or personal excess coverage without meeting the business purposes standard.
Regulation .08 Effective Date of Standards.LinkCopy Citation
A.
If an insurer proposes to cancel, or refuse to renew, insurance coverage in accordance with Insurance Article, §27-501, Annotated Code of Maryland, and the cancellation or refusal to renew will take effect on or after October 1, 1998, the insurer shall comply with the standards of Insurance Article, §27-501(i)—(n), Annotated Code of Maryland, to the extent that the standards are applicable.
B.
The disclosure requirements of Regulation .04B of this chapter apply only to a policy that is issued or renewed on or after January 28, 2000.
Chapter annotations
Authority: Insurance Article, §§2-109, 19-216(d), and 27-501, Annotated Code of Maryland
History: Effective date:
History: Regulations .01—.08 adopted as an emergency provision effective February 4, 1999 (26:5 Md. R. 389); emergency status expired August 4, 1999; emergency status reinstated effective August 26, 1999 (26:19 Md. R. 1446); emergency status expired December 29, 1999
History: Regulations .01—.08 adopted effective March 6, 2000 (27:4 Md. R. 455)
History: Regulation .04D amended effective February 1, 2016 (43:2 Md. R. 129)
History: Regulation .04E adopted effective November 6, 2017 (44:22 Md. R. 1038)